BBC iPlayer Coming to Western Europe

For some time now, an international version of the BBC iPlayer
has been in the works and it has now emerged that western Europeans will be the
first to experience the service when it rolls out later this summer.

The service will roll out in a "careful and measured way" and
will work as a pilot project for BBC before it looks to roll the project out
elsewhere. The service will only initially be available as an iPad app, which
will further restrict the amount of people who will have access to the service.
BBC fans in western European countries are expected to pay somewhere around £6
per month to access the service which will give you access to a mix of archive
and contemporary content on the iPad. The service will be a very different
proposition to the service available to UK residents which shows recent
catch-up content only.

Because they won’t be tied to providing catch-up
programming, the BBC plans to group the international content around themes
such as documentaries, sport, comedy etc. As a result of this some programmes
which don’t necessarily fit into one of these categories, such as EastEnders,
may not be available. No date has yet been set for a launch elsewhere, such as
the US, as the BBC will wait and see how the service works in western Europe
before deciding to expand its availability. The service is also likely to
become available on other devices as well as generally on the internet.

The launch of the iPlayer on an international stage is sure
to be a success but it will be vital that the BBC gets the mix of content and pricing
correct if its to be used widely.